Car-door-operating device



W. E. MOORE.

CAR DOOR O PERATING DEVICE.

APPLCATION FILED JULY T11 |-9l9- 1,4;0515. Patented Jan. 31, 1922. 3 l 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. E. MOORE.

CAR Dooa OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7. 1919.

1,4053 1 5 A Patented Jan. 31, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. E. MOORE.

CAR DOOR OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLicAloN man 1uLY1.1919.

Patented Jan. 31,1922.

s4 SHEETS-SHEET s. n

NTE STATEd WILLIAM E. MOORE, 0F PITTSBURGH, PEN'NSYLVALN'IA ommen-OPERATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent..

Patented Jan. 31, 1922.

Application filed July 7, 1919. Serial No. 308,921.

To all whom t may conce-'m Be it known that WILLIAM E. Moonn, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania-has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Door-Operating Devices, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to improvements in car door operating devices, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide means for" opening and closing car or other doors, such as thoseon the street cars and the like, and I employ for the purpose an electric motor, whose motion may be reversed for opening or closing thedoor as desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide an electric door operating device, which may be actuated from any portion of the car, either by means of push buttons or by manual means for reversing the current of the motor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel system of circuits so arranged as to cause the motor to operate in either direction, at will, and embodying resistances so connected and proportioned as to limit the speed of the motor and at the same time make it possible for the motor armature to stop and remain stationary Without damage, while carrying the full working current. 4

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel form of door operating mechanism in which the apparatus, at the end of the movement of the door, either in its open or closed position, assumes a holding position, which will positively prevent the movement of the door in either direction until the motor is again actuated to fbring the mechanism out of its locking position,- so as to permit the door to freely swing to the desired position.

Other objects and advantages will appear lin the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, in which Figure-1 is the side elevation of a door,

with my improved operating mechanism applied thereto. I

Figure 2 is a perspective view, portion of a double door.

Flgure 3 is an enlarged section along line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on the line 4-45 of Figure 1. A. Figure 5 is a diagrammatical View, showing the electric circuits for operating the motor, in their normal condition.

F lgure 6- is a similar view, showing one'of the operating circuits closed.

F lgure 7 is a diagrammatical view of a modified form .of motor circuit.

Figure 8 is a sectional view through a portlon of a car, showing a modified means for operating a door through the agency of an electric motor.

Figure 9 is a sectional view at right angles to Figure 8, showing the means for mounting1 the motor.

igure 10 is a section along fline 10-*10 of Figure 9, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now particularly to Figure 1, I have shown a motor which I have designated in general by M. On the shaft of the motor is a bevel gear 1, which meshes with a bevel gear 2 on the shaft 3, which is journalled in upper and lower bearings 4 and 5, respectively. Secured to the shaft is a crank arm 6, to which' are pivotally secured links, such as those shown at 7, the opposite end of each link being connected to a crank arm8, which is in turn connected with one of the door sections, such as that shown at 9 in Figures 1 and 2. An accompanying door section 10 is shown connected to door showing a section 9, being provided with guide members 11, which cause the folding of the doors, when the door 9 is rotated on its pivot. Each of these links 7 is provided with a bowed or curved portion 7a, which is adapted to reach around the shaft 3, as shown in Figure 3, so as to dead center its pivotal connection with the crank arm 6. The shaft 3 is provided with stop arms 12 and 13 respectively, which limit the movement of rotation of the shaft 3, when they strike the abutments, such as that shown at 13 in Figure 1. One of the stop arms 12 and 13 is designed to engage its abutment .in

the open position of the door, and the other circuit for the motor M which is of the series wound type. has a fixed resistance 14, in shunt with the armature which keeps the motor from racing. Tn the arrangement shown in Figure 5, T have provided two magnetically operated manuallyl controlled reversing switches S and S respectively. The switch S has,

contacts 15`15x and 16-16". A magnet 17 is designed to pull up an armature 18, upon which the contacts 15X and 16x are carried. The switch S has similar parts, including the magnet 17 and armature 18', the contacts 15 and 16, and the contacts 15Y and 16V. The magnet 17 is operated by a battery B upon the closure of any of the push buttons P. lin the present instance there are only two of the push buttons shown, but it is understood that one or more may be used, as desired, so that the doors may be operated either at one particular point, or from di'erent points in the car.

From the foregoing description of the general arrangement of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. Let us assume that it is desired to open the door, and one of the push buttons F is operated (see Figure 6). This energizes the magnet 17 from the battery fB, closing the contacts 15--15x and 16-16. Current then iiows from the positive lead L through 15-151, 19, motor armature M, 20, 16X-16, 21, and through the series field F, and the resistance R in series therewith, to the negative wire L. A portion of the current passes through the resistance 14, which, as stated above, is to prevent the racing of the motor. This resistance not only shunts part of the line current around the armature, but, being connected across the terminals thereof, receives current due to thev counter E. M. F. ofthe motor, and thus acts as a dynamic brake to limit the speed thereof. The motor will be rotated in the direction to open the door through the medium of the connections shown in Figures 1 to t inclusive, the movement of the doors being limited by the stop members 12 and 13 as explained.

Tt will be understood that the resistance R, in series with the motor, is relatively large, especially where, as in street car practice, the motor is supplied with high voltage current from the trolley. This resistance, in connection with the shunt resistance 14:, 4serves to limit the current fiow through the armature to a safe value,- even when the armature is stationary. Therefore the motor can be stopped by engagement of the Tn this figure the motor stop members 12 and 13 with the fixed abutnient-13 without danger of burning out. Tn other words, current will be supplied to the motor as long as one of the switches S or S remains closed, regardless oit whether or not the door has reached the limit of its movement. 0n the one hand, no automatic switch or other complicated apparatus for disconnecting the motor is employed, and on the other hand, the operator does not have to release the switch at any given moment, as no harm will result from it remaining closed indefinitely. Thus it will be seen that T have provided a purely manual control, of extreme simplicity, with a constant mechanical connection between the motor and door.

T it is desired to close the door, one of the push buttons F is operated, causing the closure of the contacts 15', '15% 16 and 16Y. Current thereupon flows from the lead wire L throu h 22, 15', 15Y, 23, 20, through the motor lig in the opposite direction, 24C, 16', 16V, 25, and through the field F and the resistance R, to the magnet L. Tt will be observed that the flow of-current through the armature of the motor, when the push button P is operated, is in the reverse direction, while the fiow of current through the field coil and resistance is in the same direction. The `motor is therefore reversed, and the door is closed.

lin Figure 7 T have shown a modified form of the device, in which the motor M has a resistance R', connected at one end to the central portion of the field coil, thereby dividing the latter into two portions, Fx and FY. The switches Sx and Sy are connected directly to one of he leads, as for instance, the lead L. In this form of the device, whenever the switch SX is closed, current flows from the lead wire L through 26, the motor M, the resistance R, coil F", and switch S", to the magnet wire L. Tf, however, the switch SY is closed, then the flow of current is through the coil FY, and through the switch Sy, to the magnet wire, thus reversing the direction of flow of current in the field coil, and hence reversing the direction of rotation of the motor.

llt will be understood that the illustrations of the means for reversing the direction of rotation of the motor are illustrations only, and that any suitable means for reversing the current through the motor, such as a mechanical reversing switch, might be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. lln case of an emergency, the doors may be opened by manually turning the shaft 3, and for this purpose T have provided the handle 3h (see Figure 1).

Tn Figures 8 to 10 inclusive, lf have shown one means by which a sliding door, such as those used at the ends of payaS.you-enter cars, may be closed or opened byan electric motor, iin-- this instance the 4Hwtor M is mounted on any suitable base, as for instance the wall 27 of the car. The door 28 is' preferably provided with a rack 29, which is engaged by a pinion 30 on the shaft of the motor M. The door may be mounted on rollers 31, arranged to run on the track 32, while the rack 29 may also run on the roller, such asthat shown at 32 in Figures 9 and 10. In this form of the device, as in the' preceding form, the reversal of the direction of rotation of the motor may be accomplished by a mechanical reversing switch, or by the reversing means set forth in Figures 5 and 6, or that shown in Figure 7 I do not limit my invention to the particular forms here shown. It is obvious that other forms may embody the invention; for instance, the motor may operate a single folding leaf door, or a single motor may be geared or roped to two or more sliding doors.

I claim:

1. The combination with a door, of a rotary electric motor for operating the same, positive, permanent, mechanical connections between the motor and door whereby rotation of the motor in one direction or the other serves to open or close said door, switching means for reversing the. direction of rotation of the motor, a relatively high voltage source of current, a circuit connecting said motor and source of current and including said reversing means, said circuit being permanently continuous except for said reversing means, and means for preventing over-heating of the motor when stopped by the door reaching one or the other of its limiting positions.

2. The combination with a door, of an electric motor for operating the same, a constant, positive, mechanical connection between the motor shaft and door whereby neither can move independently of the other, manually controlled reversing switches in the motor circuit, such circuit being permanently continuous except for such switches, said motor having a field winding and a fixed resistance constantly connected in series with the armature, and a second resistance forming a permanent shunt around the armature, whereby the speed, torque and current are limited to a safe value under all conditions.

3. The combination with a door, of a rotatable shaft, a crank arm rigidly carried by the door, a crank arm rigidly mounted on the shaft, a link directly connecting said crank arms, the pivot point of the link with the shaft carried arm being substantially on a dead center when the door is in either of its limiting positions, and a reversible electric motor permanently connected with said shaft to rotate the same in either direction to an actuating member connecting the motor and door, and mechanical means interposed between the motor and said member for reducing the effective speed of travel of the latter as the door appro-aches its limiting position, the circuit of the motor being continuously closed and its resistance meanwhile being maintained constant.

5. The combination with a door,'of a reversible rotary electric motor for operating the same, positive, permanent mechanical connections between the motor and the door, whereby rotation of the moto-r in one direction o-r the other serves to open or close said door, means for positively and mechanically stopping the rotation of the motor when the door reaches either limit of its movement, a pair of manually controlled switches for reversingthe direction of rotation of the motor, a relatively high voltage source of current, circuit connections between said source and said motor, said connections including the reversing switches, and being permanently continuous and uninterrupted except for said switches, either of said switches serving to maintain the supply of current to the motor solong as it remains closed, regardless of the position of the door, and means for preventing injury to the motor when it is mechanically stopped, as above described, while still connected through one of said switches to the source of current.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

WILLIAM E. MOORE. 

